Building and air distributing structure



July 12, 1960 Filed March 14, 1957 B. E. cuRRAN 2,944,478

BUILDING AND AIR UISTRIBUTING STRUCTURE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Berna rd E, Curran BY www@ July 12, 1960 B. E. cURRAN 2,944,478

BUILDING AND AIR DISTRYIBUTING STRUCTURE v y Filed March 111, 1957 'l 5 sheets-sheet 2 FIG.2

IN VEN TOR. Barnard E. Curran ATTORNEY July l2, 1960 B. E. CURRAN 2,944,478

BUILDING AND AIR DISTRIBUTING STRUCTURE Filed March 14, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 :Y INVENTOR. N a Bernard E. Curran 3 Q g v "d BY ,Qtuddl ATTORNEY July 12, 1960 B. E. CURRAN BUILDING AND AIR DISTRIBUTING STRUCTURE Filed March 14, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 for. .VN/

1NVENT0R. A Bernard E. Curran PmfRC-M ArTolaNE V Om.

W y N. ou

B. E. CURRAN BUILDING AND AIR DSTRIBUTING STRUCTURE July 152, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 14, 1957 INVENTOR BernardEfurrdn wieda@ ATTORNEY 2,944,478 fPfatentedtalulyil'gZgl- 1960 *tf-"Figli4 8.: ag detail-itliew1.,;inacross.,v sectionfolapparatus QBUILDr-NG srkucrnnn :si-estimant@ forming ttheesubiect;maar, aof fthe. Goemann Yupatentyfabove referreditto;fembodies7 a..ce11ular`V metal floor 5f-fthe type iillustratednrin ther-.lamentzinfYoung,- No. 1,867,43 3, andz'swhere'inf,v a1. 'multiplicityi of air: conducting cellar-form ai partz of'i :then` structural load.- supporting: acelgaf LassiglnlolV i. I

awrporatwn f Roberts@ Cempanni of Pennsylvania t .lapatenL-f' provisionisztmade':fontsupplying: air,y vparticularly conditioned air,I to,` selected-zand av vnumber of spaced air v conducting floor cells, and the present invention isv parl.zticularly concernediztwith novel Aconnecting-@means for *This inventionrelates to'-aibuildingvandzeidistljibuting lfeondueting air'rfromgone or: more.v Aoff-the air conducting nconditioning structure yof the type#fQrmingwtheysubject i matter of United States patentto -'R.U P. ,oemannfblo. 2,729,429, datedlanuary 3, 1956.

y ditioningand distributingk system andl apparatusfwherein cellular metal iloors form` the load supporting structure at eachof selected stories of a multi-story building,v and `thegpresent invention has for an object to-V providegnovel ,conducting -oor cells to an outlet; or disch arge;unit.

,connecting apparatus which mayv -be used with vanlvantage 1 in connecting an` airoutletordischarge unit; tomangair conducting cell of aV multicellularoor wherein th Vd is-V 3 harge Y unit extends along af, side wal1-of the bn1lding vparallel to and spaced laterally from; the run, 'of the ,-lon-v gitudinally extended air conducting cell of the multi- ;-cellular oor. Y

connecting apparatus whichnlayy bei1.1vsed-xvit-h advantage l in ,connecting an outletrorv discharge -imit t'o,'ai1j con- K Y vldusting cell ofa multicellular floorzfwhic. indu@ s PIO# I ,1i-vision; y,for -temporalyxsupportinef au adtustin ti-yely shallow screed box in; surroundingfqrelatjon rgthe outlet Connectiugapparatus durinathetpou ug of ce1' i .-mavhereinafter,appeantheinven n let-connecting"appafatusftortlre Vpurposedes 2 in `the various structures',v ,arlangementsV and LcQmb' ations hereinafterV deseribed,and; partiular'lyfdened ,the ith'e'niulticellularifloor, Y n t Y ,t lclaims atrthe end ofthis specification. 1l ,K r 2550i lm fiCCOI-danwthLQIPICSQD/iIlYellOIlpprOvisioi-l; isY Y in.theierawiugs illustrating kvthe.1,preferir.ed-emb d ent, n deforscometing-thef,sill boxloutletsf:whicnexf 0f the invention; Y Y, 1 i t n i Fig. 1-isf'a.dagramruatictplanvew of tit/,portion Vfa cellularfmetal iloor.v vherein;l air Vis. conducted; through :selected Hoor.. cells as shown, in! 1 said.'v Goeman@ pi'teut '.fabove. referred to;

'.embojdyitig vthe 'present,airfdistrilutiuestructure: Fis. 3- is across Sectiouelgview tekenen' the linei3=3 connections toan air-fd' a Wall parallel t0. the-ainoudu'fiug/Cells;

vof. Fig. 2 showing Athe crossover ,ductsand-outletconnect ,'tionstoair distributing outletsarranged along walls parallel to andl at right anglesto VAuit conducting Cells;

-lretemngnerilusuppertiusausl' S 111 particular; air conducting'cells. s Preferably, provision: -is made;- forgconnecting:theitop of theY air conducting 'cell with anl outlet unittmountedlupon ,the-upper. side of Vthe con- 2Qffoor ,and spacedlaterally `a:substantial'idistance :from a the airv Aconducting; cell.V Ing the. illustratedv r`embodiment :fof the; inventionY .the connection comprises a crossover duct.A extended transverselyof4 and over the top of. the floor sellsand includesfznoyel connectingyelementsbeapparatus for conducting air fromoneor morenof theair 25` tween *thev air conducting cell-1 and the: crossover duct, `and betweentheA crossover1 Aduct andthe-'outlet unit. The .lfindividual;componentsof thei connectingfductsystem and ,apparatusi'lend themselvesto economicalfactory produc- ;tion and areQdesignedA to facilitate assembly; -andminimize Q, ereotion costs.

':I'Referringqnowtto;tthe,drawings,.lig. 1 .fillustratestin 'jg-plan atportionfof- :one vstory ofy a';multistory building j .;1embodying Ythe air,pconditioning` and ,distributing system v. ,y y H '.shown e? Goemaun patent'Whereinfhotrtandcold thesinventiongis toprovidej,novel 35yairyluc1s ,0,4 12 respectivelyrzare.'extended tln'oughfthe erviceM ore Qfgthebuilding and areV connected `by lon- The Goemann patent discloses a buildinggandair Another object of the inventionjsgto,providepnoyelV A, further object of 18,211 beneathjthei cellular metal floor -to in turu-.leomtnunicetei :directlyewith v sill box', outlets 26 arrange at., right. angles, toethe,l air:conductingv cells or parallel to the endwwalla .2.84.9151 thefbuilslingrthe sill Jbox Qutle tli erraugedlou thesde Awall .32. of the buildthezmulricellu ar .supporting .the uovtair. c ar'r'yingportions f ti-alugY the, Side; wa11'32.- parallel to; theirun ofttheair ,arr-yius-lls'llltby crossover; ducts 3,8, 40. respectively Whqh @Xteltl'dlrausverssly 0f.- and'. top Qffthe multicuttingfthroug'h-- the.v non ir carrying c ellsof; the' .oor

Eig. 213is a plan View detailf-of; one v.corner of` aybuvilding 1, to 2malte connetionsftotthe sill, box o'njtletsy and lalso y'elimitletl o 'f qui for ducts.. beneatht but-ing outlet@rieuse alone of= Fig;y -2 illustrating ,the

oonbetween theioor and Figi/lis a cross3rsectiona1 view takenon thelinev the-.longitudinallyextended 6 Biest'. 5 and 6-y areperspestivesdetail viewsofsfcou .7 isL a rdetail viewirfin';prossg-seetion, of, apparatus m .-turnergesurfacs af, t,

each duct'- is provided with an opening 52 in -Vforl temporarily supportingf,.and-adjusting:a relativelyl i la dlantmetaloorfitself. FAS illustrated `iny theGoemann 't gitndiirally; en;tv er'ided` ductsA 14 16 and transverselv. eX-

ond-noting cells, 2,2,.24 offthe ViloonwliichY mating the exterior, ductV onnections lbtlmtth 'the fQOI',V thereby/1 substantially:reducinggthegamount1, of ,space-ref As illustrated iin cross -seetionfinligsg-3and 4, each enclosed a tight air carrying dut,i ;tlieiendsi,o f the duets side for communication with an opening 54 in the top wall. of. .an underlying air conducting cell. yIn order...

'to provide an airtight seal between the door cell and the crossover duct at the communicating openings 52, 54,

c the openingf52 inithercrossoverduct is preferably made 1j .slightly larger in `diameter than-the openingj'54 in the air conducting cell, and the marginal edg'eofV the duct Y opening 52 may be welded to` the underlying top'wall of the air conducting cell to provide a sealing Vbead 55" to the top wallfof the crossover duct by screws 60 as shown.

The oth'er'ends'V of the crossover ducts 38, 40 are arranged forconnection to the upright stacks 62, 64 of the sill box 30, and since the height of the crossover ducts above the multicellular floor provides relatively little space between the top of the crossover duct and the screedV line defining the upper surface of the door ll 65,

.over duct immediately disposed openings are provided Vin. the anges.72, 80 comprising countersunk openings 88 in the Vange 80V and-,clearance openings 96 in the ange 72 and through which hat head screws V92 are extended. A looped fastening member 94, .of the type known commercially as a fTinnerman nut, is provided for each screw 92, eachvnut 94 having a clearance opening in its upper leg and a threaded opening in its lower Hleg. `.The legs are arranged toembrace the ilange' 72,

v as-shown, with the screws 92 extended'through the Yclearance openings and cooperating with the threaded Fig. 8, a relatively shallow screed box 66 is provided in the floor fill dening the opening in the upper surface of to cooperate with an opening 74 formed in the upper l wall of the crossover duct wherein the lower flange 70 is arranged to engage the underside of the top wall surrounding the opening '74, the Vshoe plate being shownY in detail in FigfS. A double base plate, shown in detail in Fig. `6,'isV provided with an upper'shoe plate portion 76 at eachend connected by an intervening web 78 which serves as a spacer for registering the openings 74' in the crossover ducts 38, 40 with the predetermined spacing between the stacks 62, 64. As illustrated, each vided with an outwardly extended lower ilange 78 and an inwardly extended upper flange- 80. The lower flange 78 is arranged to rest 011 the upper wall surface surrounding the-opening 74 of the crossover duct with a gasket 82 intervening-ltd render the connection airtight. l

The upper shoeY plate portion 76 is of a size such as to iit over the upwardly extended Vportionof the shoe plate 63 in nesting relation, as shown lin Figs. Tand 8, and the openings in the lower legs of the nuts 94. The flat plate 86 may then be secured to the upper ange by screws 96 which extend through clearance'openings in the plate, the clearance openings lin the corners of the ange 80 and into threaded openings in the flange 72. As illustrated in Fig. 7, the shallow screed box 66 is provided with an inwardly extended lower ange 98 and is arranged to` be adjustably supported by the flat plate 86 -by the provision of a pair of height adjusting screws 100" extended through clearance openings in opposed marginal side portions `of the plate 86 and engaged with threaded openings in the'flange 98 of the screed box, and by the provision of a second pair of screws comprising leveling screws 1ti2 which extend through threaded openings in opposed marginal end portions of the at plate 86 with the ends of the screws bearing against the screed box ange 98 as shown.' As thus arranged, it will be seen that by rotating the screws 100, the height of the screed box may be adjusted to present the upper edge thereof in alignment with the screed line 65, and by adjustment of the vscrews 182 the screed box may be leveled with respect to the screed line, the screws 102 also serving to lock the box in its adjusted position. After the tloor ill hasbeen poured and hardened, the

" screws 96 and the plate 86 may be removed and the sill box may be connected to the shoe vilanges, as above described, using the-same corner ilange. o enins to It w1ll be ob- Y.plate members68, 76 are retained in their assembled relation by the temporary fastening elements 92, 94 and uppershoe plate portion 76 is arranged'to cooperate.,V

with its respective lower shoe plate 68 and is also prothat the-:screws-SS securing the sill box yto 'the outlet structure provide a permanent and airtight connection.

The structureishown in Fig. '8 illustrates the arrangement for temporarily supporting and adjusting a'relatively deep screed box 104 dening the access openingsV in the '-'76 of 'the double Vbase plate. VAs shown in Fig. 8, the

inwardly extended anges72, S@ are provided with open. .l Y

' ings for' the reception'of fastening elements so that when the flanges 72,38) are drawn ltogether by the fastening elements the lower' Ailanges 70, 78 will be drawn into tight clamping engagement with the upper wall surrounding the opening 74'i'n the crossover duct. VGasket 82 is iirmly compressed Vbetween ange 78 and the upper wall to form a seal therebetween. As herein shown,

the flanged lower lendrof Vthe stack 62rests on the upper flange 80 with an intervening gasket 84 toV maly'ueA an airtight joint and'is connected to the outlet connectionsplate 86 adapted 'to temporarily and adjustably support -the shallow screed box 66'during the pouring operation.

In order to initially retain the upper and lower shoe plate portionsS, 76'in assembled relation to the lcrosskconnectedsill 'bx V2,6'a`re subsequently inserted and secured to a similar'outlet connecting structure including the lower shoe plates 68 and upper shoe plate portions shoe plate members 68,776 may be irst connnected by the temporary fastening elements 92, VY94 through Vintermediate having a closed bottom wall and anioutwardly extended l upper ange 1l2lis then secured to the outlet ilanges 80, ,72 bycorner screws H4. The screed box'104is provided with an inwardly extended lower ange 116 and an outwardly Aextended upper ilange 118, vand adjusting and supporting screws 120, 122 cooperate'with box relative to the screed line of the subsequently poured iloor iill as previously described. As shown in Fig'. 8,. v the upper flange H8 of the screed box 104 is preferably disposeda short distance below theY screed Vline 65 and may 'oe provided with a cover member l26 having its upper surface flush with Vthe screed line and secured to the flange 118 by screws Y128. A gasket or ller member 130 may be inserted between the upper ilange 80 of shoe/plate'memberV 76 and the bottom wall of the inverted shoe -plate 110.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that :fthe 4structureillustrated in Fig. 8 is particularly adapted lJor'use connecting the outlet boxV 26 directly` `to the .underlying air conducting cells of themulticellular floor been herein illustrated and described, it willrbe understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms Within the scope of the following claims. r

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is: 1. In an air distributing and building structure,l acellular metal load supporting door having longitudinally extended air conducting cells forming a component of theV floor, a dual air outlet unit having a pair of air receiving stacks, said outlet unit being spaced from and extended parallel to said air conductingcells, and airtight connections between said air conducting cells and said dual outlet unit including a pair of .crossover ducts extended transversely and on top of said-cellular metal oor, each crossover duct having communicating openings atone end thereof betweenthe upper wall of an air conducting cell and the lower wall of a crossover duct, and means providing an airtight connection between, said air cell and crossover duct and a flanged outlet con-- nection at the other end thereof Vcooperating with an opening in the upper wall of a crossover duct and to which the lower ends of said stacks are secured, said anged outlet connections including an individuallower shoe plate for each outlet and having outwardly extended bottom anges, and an elongated base plate extending between openings in the crossover ducts having a cooperating upper shoe plate formed at each end thereof, said upper shoe plates having outwardly extended bottom flanges cooperating with the bottom flanges of the lower shoe plates to embrace the inner and outer surfaces of the upper wall portions dening'said openings, and upwardly extended rim portions and inwardly extended upper flanges, said rim portions of said shoe plates being arranged in substantially nesting relation and also provided with means for securing the inwardly extended upper ilanges together to eifect clamping of said lower flanges about said openings to form airtight connections therebetween, and said base plate providing means for registering the duct openings and the air receiving stacks of the outlet units.

2. Connecting apparatus for connecting a dual air discharge outlet unit having a pair of spaced air receiving stacks to spaced air conducting cells of a multicellular f oor and air distributing structure of a building, said connecting apparatus comprising an individual lower shoe plate having outwardly extended bottom anges for cooperation with openings in the upper wall of each cell,

and an elongated base plate having a cooperating upper shoe plate formed at each end thereof'and spaced a distance equal to the spacing of said air receiving stacks for registering and aligning the openings with said stacks, said upper shoe plates having outwardly extended bottom anges cooperating with the bottom anges of the lowerA shoe plates to embrace ythe inner and outer surfaces of the upper wall portions of the cells defining said open- Y c 6 ings, and upwardly extended rim portions and inwardly extended upper flanges, said rim portions of said shoe plates being arranged in substantially nesting relation and also-provided with means for securing the inwardly extended upper anges together to effect clamping of said lower flanges about said openings, the lower ends of said stacks being secured to said inwardlyv extended flanges.

3. Connecting apparatus for connecting adual air diS- charge outlet unit having a pair of Vspaced, air receiving stacks to air conducting cells of a multicellul'ai oor and air distributing structure of a building, said connecting apparatus comprising iianged connecting elements cooplerating with openings formed in the upper walls of said cells and forming airtight connections therebetween, said flanged connecting lelements comprising upper and lower shoe members, each having outwardly extended bottom anges arranged to embrace the inner and outer surfaces ofthe upper wall portions defining said openings, said connecting elements being also provided with inwardly extended upper flanges arranged to be secured together to elect clamping of said lower flanges about said openings, to form airtight connections, said upper shoe plates being formed at the ends of and integrally with an f cellular metal load supporting oor having longitudinally extended air conducting cells forming a component of the floor, a dual air outlet unit having a pair of spaced air receiving stacks, said outlet unit being spaced from and extended parallel to said air conducting cells, airtight connections between said air conducting cells and said dual outlet unit including a pair of crossover ducts extended transversely and on top of said cellular metal door, each crossover duct having communicating openings at one end thereof between the upper wall of an air conducting cell and the lower wall of a crossover duct, an airtight outlet connection at the other end of each crossover duct cooperating with an outlet opening in the upper wall thereof for securing the lower ends of said spaced stacks in airtight relation to their respective crossover ducts, said outlet connections including an elongated base plate extending between and having openings aligned with said outlet openings, said elongated base plate serving as an laligning and spacing element for assuring registration of the outlet openings with the lower ends of the spaced air receiving stacks.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,864,300 Curran Dec. 16, 1958 

